May 26, 2010 at 01:36 PM
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PWC: Sponsorship Spending To Hit $35.2B by 2013

Spending on sports sponsorship deals will be the fastest growing component of the sports market during the next four years with global spending on sports sponsorship increasing from $29.4 billion in 2009 to $35.2 billion in 2013, according to a new study.


In a study entitled Back on track? The outlook for the global sports market to 2013, PriceWaterhouseCoopers predicts that sponsorships will be the fastest-growing category of the sports marketplace, growing at 4.6 percent compounded annually through 2013.

Among the fastest growing regions in sponsorship growth will be EMEA (5.3% CAGR), Asia (4.4% CAGR) and the U.S. (4.2% CAGR). North America held the largest share of the global sponsorship market in 2009 with 39%.

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The study attributes growth to a rebound in spending among financials and cites a grwoth in spending among three categories specifically: healthcare, sports betting and telecoms.

Despite several recent high profile cases of bad publicity, PWC says that sponsors are increasingly looking to sponsorships as an alternative to advertising, and are embedding themselves within the product to gain a higher profile and avoid ad-skipping.

While sponsorship is expected to lead the way for growth in the sports business, the forecast is not a foregone conclusion. PWC issued four questions, which will be key to the sponsorship industry's anticipated growth:

  • Will the recession driven shifts - such as sponsors preferring the biggest brands and incorporating aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility - continue in the recovery?
  • How will sports brands give sponsors the accountability, measurability and transparency of return that they are looking for?
  • Will major events’ restrictions on usage of their brands cause some sponsors to look elsewhere?
  • Will mid-ranking and smaller sports brands be able to regain their lost revenues once economic conditions improve?